I. Introduction

General Properties of Galaxies

The Hubble Sequence and other morphological classification systems

Review: stars and stellar evolution

Distance scale

[B&M 2-7; B&T 1]

II. Stellar Populations and their Distribution

Star counts

Stellar luminosity function, initial mass function, birth rate

Distribution and kinematics of stellar populations in the Milky Way

Asymmetric drift, Bottlinger diagram

Disk heating: Spitzer-Schwarzschild mechanism

Formation Models of our Galaxy

Chemical evolution

Stellar population synthesis

[B&M 4,5,8,10; B&T 9]

III. Galactic Rotation and Stellar Dynamics

Solar motion and the local standard of rest

Oort constants

Stellar motions in disk and elliptical potentials

Rotation curve of our Galaxy

[B&T 2,3]

IV. Mass Discrepancies & Dark Matter

Rotation and dynamics of external galaxies

Tully-Fisher relation for spiral galaxies

Mass determinations and mass-to-light ratios on various scales

Dark matter candidates

Halo and Galaxy Formation Models

Modified Newtonian Dynamics

[B&M 11; B&T 10]

V. Disk Dynamics and Spiral Structure

Disk stability

Spiral density wave theory

Tracers of spiral structure

Stochastic star formation

Bars

Warps

[B&T 6]

VI. Elliptical Galaxies

Equations of stellar hydrodynamics

Stellar relaxation

Velocity ellipsoids, triaxiality

Mass profiles

Fundamental plane of elliptical galaxies

[B&M 11; B&T 2-5]

VII. Statistical Galaxy Properties

Galaxy luminosity function

Bivariate distribution of size and surface brightness

The dependence of the luminosity function on environment and redshift

[B&M 4]

VIII. Galaxy Evolution and the Effects of Environment

Galaxy Groups, Clusters, and Environments

Tidal interactions and mergers

Dynamical friction, cannibalism, and ram presssure stripping

Gas content of clusters

Large Scale Structure

[B&M 7-9]

IX. Galactic Nuclei

Observational summary of the Galactic center

Search for dormant black holes in nearby galaxies

Active galactic nuclei & starbursts

[B&M 4]

Main texts: Galactic Astronomy by Binney & Merrifield [B&M], Princeton U. Press, 1998 (on reserve), and Galactic Dynamics by Binney & Tremaine [B&T], Princeton U. Press, 1987 (on reserve).

Other readings: journal & review articles as assigned.

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